Vehicles: Page 206

Chrysler says ‘au revoir’ to 2-stroke engine program

Say au revoir to the 2-stroke engine - at least as far as Chlysler Corp. is concerned.Engineers at the company's stroke engine "skunkworks" will suspend further development of the 2-stroke engine, work which began nearly a decade ago under the auspices of Chrysler's highly touted "Liberty" advanced small-car program.Floyd Allen, Chrysler executive engineer-core and minivan powertrain, announces that

By Bob Brooks, Visnic, Bill • Nov. 1, 1996

Becker dances to a different beat; interior systems supplier leverages its design firepower

As rumors keep stirring about the next round of supplier mergers, the emergence of the Becker Group from a modest Sterling Heights, MI, tool and die shop into a $1.4 billion global player in the interior integration game raises some important questions about the conventional wisdom driving the megadeals in supplier land.Do you have to take your company public?Do you have to manufacture every piece

By Gardner, Greg • Oct. 1, 1996

Amcast Automotive

More and more customers are finding that by partnering with Amcast Automotive, they can reach their goals faster and more effectively. Working as part of your team, Amcast's extensive in-house engineering expertise is available to handle or support any design effort from start to finish.Our advanced technologies are incorporated into your program to ensure that you'll get the best product to process

Sept. 1, 1996

A ray of hope from Tonawanda: new ‘global’ GM engine could help keep labor peace

Barely a footnote in an announcement that had been expected for months, General Motors Corp.'s decision to build a new global 4-cyl. engine in Tonawanda, NY, holds an important clue in the vexing search for competitive labor peace with the United Auto Workers union.The UAW's contract expires on Sept.14. The union hadn't named a strike target at press time, but no matter who's selected, the bargaining

By Gardner, Greg • Sept. 1, 1996

Uh, oh: colors and fabrics of the ‘70s are making a comeback.

Uh, oh. They're back! Platform shoes. Polyester. John Travolta. The Brady Bunch. Plus every semi-talented rock band that ever had an album on 8-track. For some awful, inexplicable reason, the fashions, colors, art, television shows, movies, actors and music of the '70s are back in style -- with a vengeance.And, to the horror of some, car and truck colors and interior fabrics are following the same

By Drew Winter • Sept. 1, 1996

Siemens, Sommer Allibert form cockpit venture

Siemens Automotive Systems Group and Sommer Allibert Industrie AG have formed a joint venture to offer single sourcing of automotive cockpit modules. The concept debuted at the Frankfurt auto show last year.

Sept. 1, 1996

Aluminum vehicle content to double during next decade

Advanced aluminum casting technologies increase critical component application possibilities for vehicle weight reduction.Over the past two decades, spurred by government regulated corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) and clean air regulations, automotive designers have directed significant attention to reducing overall vehicle weight. Since fuel consumption of vehicles is directly linked to their

Sept. 1, 1996

High-quality casting processes for aluminum

To meet the increasing demands of automotive designers, Amcast Automotive has invested heavily in developing new technology to produce aluminum castings. This investment has led to continued refinement of its casting processes through advanced engineering and process development, resulting in unequaled expertise in the production of high-integrity products for the automotive industry. Automakers are

Sept. 1, 1996

Kinder, gentler interiors: new safety rules force engineering into cosmetic plastic parts.

I'd rather look good than feel good," comedian Billy Crystal used to joke. That pretty much sums up what has been the specification for most plastic interior trim components: they had to look good and be as a low cost as possible; how they felt to unbelted passengers' heads during crashes wasn't a concern.That's all changed now, thanks to new U.S. Dept. of Transportation head-impact standards scheduled

By Drew Winter • Sept. 1, 1996

Amcast Automotive leads in critical component conversion to aluminum

With a long history in refining several casting processes and proven advances in alloy development, Amcast Automotive has become one of the pre-eminent suppliers specializing in the conversion of high-integrity performance-critical automotive components to cast aluminum.By converting high-volume applications formerly made of heavier metals to aluminum, Amcast Automotive can produce aluminum components

Sept. 1, 1996

Automakers get valuable engineering know-how from racing.

Winning racing programs improve image and help sell cars. This has been true from the earliest days of the auto industry, and it's still true today. It was even the case when auto companies had policies against supporting racers and automakers helped teams under the table.Today, everything is above board and advertisements touting racing victories cover full pages in newspapers and magazines the day

Sept. 1, 1996

‘97 Camry raises the bar.

AUSTIN, TX -- Heads will not turn when the all-new 1997 Camry drives by, and it's hard to imagine many 14-year olds will ever fall asleep dreaming of someday owning one."Sterile," "bland" or "an appliance" are some of the dismissive adjectives hurled at this midsize benchmark by some hardbitten gearheads.But ask any engineer on a competing midsize car program, and it's a different story. Seeing a

By Drew Winter, Gardner, Greg • Sept. 1, 1996

Copper’s comeback; electronics spur volume gains, and new technology helps.

New electrical and electronics applications are fueling copper's recovery from aluminum's 1980s takeover of the automotive radiator industry.Industry sources say copper use continued to grow in 1996, up from 42 lbs. (19.1 kg) per average vehicle in 1994 and 43.5 lbs. (19.7 kg) last year, to 45 lbs. (20.4kg).Johan Scheel, vice president of the International Copper Assn. (ICA), attributes the gains

By Kinsler, Christen • Sept. 1, 1996

3M leads charge for EV battery

ST. PAUL, MN -- 3M Corp. gets a charge out of lithium polymer batteries (LPB) and the company says it expects drivers of future electric vehicles will as well.With a $27.4 million grant from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) 3M will, along with its partners Hydro-Quebec (a major Canadian utility) and Argonne National Laboratories, will continue to develop LPBs. The announcement

By Tim Keenan • Aug. 1, 1996

JCI buys itself a Prince

The ante is raised in the battle to create the holistic interior supplier for the 21st Century.Johnson Controls Inc.'s $1.35 billion purchase of Holland, MI-based Prince Automotive temporarily puts JCI's annual revenues close to or slightly above that of arch rival Lear Corp. (Projected 1996 automotive revenues of $6 billion. Lear's 1995 sales were $4.7 billion and it has since added Masland Corp.)But

By Gardner, Greg • Aug. 1, 1996

Mercedes fuel-cell vehicle takes next step

Mercedes-Benz AG hopes to decide by the year 2000 whether its experimental fuel cell technology is ripe for a volume production program, President and Chief Executive Helmut Werner says at a mid-May unveiling of the NECAR II in Berlin.NECAR II is a Mercedes V-Class minivan converted to run on electricity generated from a fuel cell. The fuel cell uses a special foil that serves as an electrolyte and

June 1, 1996

Closing the materials ‘gap’: working toward the Supercar goal - ounceby ounce.

AK RIDGE, TN--The auto industry/federal government Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) consortium--the crew in charge of producing, by 2004, a prototype 80-mpg (3L/100 km) km) family sedan--has been in existence for two-and-a-half years now. But before they even started, the auto industry engineers and government scientists assigned to design a 6-passenger vehicle that performs like

By Bill Visnic • June 1, 1996

Loophole big enough to drive a truck through

Is the IRS fueling the trend toward ever larger sport/utilities (SUVs)?Consider the following provision found in Section 280F(d)(5)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code: "The term 'passenger automobile' means any four-wheeled vehicle (i) which is manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads and highways and (ii) which weighs 6,000 pounds (unloaded gross vehicle weight) or less. In the case of

June 1, 1996

Electronics: an Olympic effort; information showcase integrates many ITS elements

ATLANTA--Short of getting vehicles to move automatically along a wired or smart expressway, one of the biggest steps toward an intelligent transportation system (ITS) is making the people who use the highways smarter. To do that, people need information.The most comprehensive demonstration of traveler information technology will take place here through Sept. 30. Not coincidentally, during that time

By Tim Keenan • June 1, 1996

Lear buys Masland

In the latest step in its quest to become a supplier of modular interiors, Lear Corp. will buy Masland Corp. for about $385 million. Masland, which produces automotive carpeting and luggage compartment trim, will give a new dimension to Lear's product line, which expanded from seating systems to interior doors and trim last summer when it acquired Automotive Industries Inc. Masland, which employs

June 1, 1996

Mitsubishi seeks probe of harassment charges; Jackson launches boycott

Is it a public relations charade or a sincere attempt to root out some bad actors? Mitsubishi Motors Corp. hires former Labor Secretary Lynn Martin to investigate charges of sexual harassment at its Normal, IL, assembly plant. "I will have complete independence," Ms. Martin says. Responds Patricia Benassi, attorney for the 29 Mitsubishi employees who brought the complaint before the Equal Employment

June 1, 1996

Value add-athon: testing is the latest value-added perk for OEMs

Having a good, competitively priced material with great engineering characteristics simply isn't enough anymore for automotive material suppliers. If you want to increase your OEM business, you've got to offer more: more engineering, more expertise, more "value" than any of your competitors.Steel suppliers are engineering entire steel bodies-in-white to show that lightweight vehicle bodies can be

By Drew Winter • June 1, 1996

The men behind the magic

Hundreds of designers and stylists have played a major role creating memorable vehicles, but a few names stand out. First among them is Harley J. Earl, the first designer in the U.S. to establish the role of the artist in an engineering-dominated profession.Son of a coachbuilder, he began molding cars out of the wet clay he found while camping in the mountains north of Los Angeles at age 16.He later

By Drew Winter • May 1, 1996

Artist meets engineer: styling turns machine into an art form

What would the Curved Dash Oldsmobile have been without the curved dash?What would the '59 Cadillac be without fins?Styling seems to have been as much a part of the American automobile as wheels, but in fact it's a relative latecomer to the automotive scene.The first U.S. styling studio was established by Harley J. Earl in the mid-1920s, and the first concept car -- now an industry staple -- didn't

By Drew Winter • May 1, 1996

Toyota will build engines in West Virginia

After several starts and stops over land purchases, Toyota Motor Corp. announces that it will build a $200-million engine plant on a 150-acre site in Buffalo, WV. The operation eventually will employ 500 and supply the company's new truck assembly plant going up in Princeton, IN, near Evansville. Will we have to wait very long to hear John Denver singing Country Road ("almost heaven, West Virgnia")

May 1, 1996